Honey bee forage in Muleshoe, Texas

When is the honey flow in Muleshoe?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jul 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (cotton, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Muleshoe, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Apr 1.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), lindens / basswood; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), cotton, garden flowers; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Sorghum: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 4 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Muleshoe

Mostly: Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie; Western Great Plains Sand Prairie; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.27 mi S; pond, lake or river 0.51 mi W.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Muleshoe ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 32% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Sudan 16 mi · Earth 18 mi · Farwell 21 mi · Bovina 22 mi · Amherst 23 mi · Springlake 24 mi

All towns in Texas · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Muleshoe (34.2292, -102.7284); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.